The set-top box market is crowded. As is the online video sector. There are numerous ways of watching television and movies via the Web so the last thing we need is another contender. But we’re getting one in the form of the newly launched ZillionTV.
Another Day, Another Zillion Start-Ups
Another day, another set-top box is launched which promises the earth. And it doesn’t help when The LA Times calls it “the next generation of video on demand” in its header. But this one in particular is taking a slightly more measured approach to the market. Will this be enough to guarantee success?
There are a multitude of options for people looking to watch video at home using the Internet. Your computer offers a wealth of options, from the short-form fun on YouTube, to the catch-up on-demand offerings of Hulu or the BBC iPlayer. Set-top boxes such as Apple TV, the Roku box, or VUDU. Then there are the increasing number of devices being Internet-enabled, such as LG televisions, LG Blu-ray players, and the Xbox 360.
ZillionTV Enters The Fray
Surely with that little lot already on the market, there’s no room for anymore? Wrong. Enter ZillionTV, a new set-top box service headed by Mitch Berman. This man has worked in every area of television imaginable – a premium cable network (HBO), original cable programming (E! Entertainment), satellite TV (Sky), interactivity (OpenTV), and video on demand (Arris). And now he’s trying his hand IPTV.
ZillionTV is almost exactly like the plethora of other offerings already in the marketplace. However, everything it does, it seems to do well, it has high-profile backers (which while not guaranteeing success does help), and it is meeting the biggest challenges facing the online video sector head-on.
Cheap But Tasty
When the ZillionTV set-top box launches at the end of the year, it will retail for around the $50 mark, making it even cheaper than the already budget-priced Roku. For that, you’ll get a box, a remote control which operates like a Wii Remote or laser pointer with visible cursor on screen, and access to a wealth of programming.
The basic service will be free and offer an estimated 15,000 programs and movies from the off. Which is more than the 12,000 currently offered by the already-established Netflix. Backers for the service include Warner Bros., Sony Pictures, Disney, NBC Universal, and 20th Century Fox, although the latter two are likely to hold premium programming back to give Hulu an advantage.
Facing Issues Head-On
Where ZillionTV differs from the rest is its approach to two major issues the rest of the market seems unwilling or unable to deal with effectively – making sufficient revenue, and avoiding upsetting the ISPs by the amount of bandwidth needed to run a viable streaming service.
The revenue question is being answered by the use of three different options on the same box. The basic service will be free, and supported by adverts. How many and how often these intersect the programming remains to be seen. If you don’t want ads you can rent it for a limited time period. If you want neither ads or a time limit you can buy the program outright and stream it however many times you want to and whenever you want to. Simple but possibly effective.
Rather than being an afterthought, the ISPs are being brought in right at the start. ZillionTV is said to have deals in place with some ISPs (fingers crossed yours is one of them) that will see bandwidth set aside for the service and avoid those complaints from ISPs that online video isn’t paying its way.
Conclusions
ZillionTV is just yet another set-top box. But the coverage I’ve seen is mostly positive and I can see why. It has some good backers, a man in charge who knows the business, and a couple of innovations which could drive the sector forward. But until it actually launches in the fourth quarter of 2009 we won’t know if it stands out from the crowd or not.
